KALLIKREINS AND KININS - SOME UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS AND ROLES IN HUMAN-DISEASE

Kinins can affect many aspects of cellular function, but their roles i n human homeostatic mechanisms and disease are just beginning to be un derstood. In this brief review, some of the interesting new observatio ns about kallikrein-kinin system characteristics, roles in cell behavi or, and aberrancy in diseases of relevance to readers interested in hy pertension will be discussed. Along the way, questions raised by these observations will be posed. They show that we still have much to lear n about the contributions of kinins to human cardiovascular diseases b ut now have in addition both a strong rationale for asking them and th e tools to make them operational.